Dentaltown October 2016 - 93


by Dentaltown staff

Integrated Dental Systems (IDS) began as a shared vision
between clinicians who wanted to be able to provide everything
a dentist would need to successfully treat patients in need of
tooth replacement. Dentaltown spoke with company CEO and
founder Carey Lyons to discuss how far implants have come over
the years, the future in implantology, and some unique facets of
IDS, including educational opportunities and implant solutions
that are ahead of the curve.

Tell us about your start in
dentistry and what's at the
core of your company.
I began my career in 1976 when I was
visiting the office of Dr. Leonard Linkow in
New York City. He had patients flying to see
him from all over the world so he could place
blade implants. I immediately recognized a
need for a more effective and efficient solution
for patients who needed implants and for
doctors who wanted to place them. Patients
were desperate for permanent solutions, and
doctors were interested in adding this to their
repertoire. That was 40 years ago.
Integrated Dental Systems was formed
in 2012 to be a designer, manufacturer and
distributor of easy-to-use implant systems.
The goal was simple, and one we plan to
keep for years to come: to make implant
dentistry more available to more people. We
do this by designing easy-to-convert systems
that allow loading and case completion in
less time than traditional implant dentistry
at much lower costs.

Let's get right to it: How have
implants changed over the years?
The market has really evolved over the
past 25 years to titanium cylindrical implants,
and from smooth surfaces to rough ones to
improve integration. Many surface treatments
have been used to improve integration and
speed the procedure. Immediate loading
and tapered implants have become the
design standard of care, while sand-blasted,
acid-etched (SLA) surfaces have proven
very reliable.

Titanium of various grades has been
used over the years; currently, the most
popular is a Grade 4 pure titanium, with
treatment to increase the strength. Some
manufacturers use a Grade 5 titanium alloy
that's strong but contains aluminum and
vanadium, elements some users and patients
are concerned about.
Today, the market has reached a tipping
point. The general public is very aware of
the benefits of implants. The cost of the
procedure has come down and for the first
time, general dentists have placed more
implants than specialists have.

percent of all root canal cases, yet endodontic
specialists-endodontists-have never been
busier. Why? Because there are so many
more cases and general dentists know when
it's beyond their capability. Endodontists'
cases are more difficult and require more
skill and experience.
Patient fees have gone from more than
$6,000 per implant to less than $2,000.
Meanwhile, the cost of implants also has gone
down, from around $500 to less than $200
today. Dental implants and prosthetics have
become the best-selling and fastest-growing
dental product in the world.

Why does education play such a
large role in what IDS does?

Dr. Gordon Christensen has said that
there are 20 procedures general dentists
perform that are more complicated than
a single-tooth implant restoration. The
percentage of implant restorations per 100
tooth replacements is still only half of that
in Western Europe, parts of Asia and the
Middle East. In the U.S. it's 11 per 100,
while those other areas are showing numbers
like 25-40 per 100 teeth restored with
implants-sometimes more. I remember
how in the 1970s endodontists did the
vast majority of root canal treatments.
Today general dentists perform about 70

One of the biggest obstacles to getting
implant dentistry off the ground was education. There wasn't a very good system that
educated and instructed dentists, hands-on,
how to do implant dentistry. So we helped
create one, knowing that if we wanted to
see implants really thrive, we first had to
embrace the philosophy that any dentist
could learn the clinical and surgical skills
required to confidently place implants.
IDS supported this philosophy with a
nationwide team of dental-implant salesand-service field representatives-full-service
dental supply dealers. More than that,
IDS offers same-day delivery and a wide
assortment of products to meet any user's
needs, at prices that are lower than those
of most market leaders.
In partnership with Advanced Implant
Educators (AIE), we offer a full range of
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